By Jennifer Madrigal Eastvale – Corona-Norco Unified School District has begun the transition process to the new state mandated Common Core State Standards. 46 states brought together experts, teachers and researchers to write the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), which were adopted by California in 2010. CNUSD then began the process of transitioning into this new standard by spending the 2012-2013 school years raising awareness, the 2013-2014 school year planning the transition and finally, will conclude with the implementation of the CCSS for the 2014-2015 school year. In order to ensure that parents and community members are well prepared for the changes that these new standards will bring, CNUSD hosted a parent information night on August 28, 2013. The District will also host another informative meeting at Santiago High School in the theatre on Thursday September 12, 2013 at 6:30pm. At these meetings, parents will be able to learn about the curriculum and the new learning standards from teachers and district administrators. Parents will also be able to ask questions and instruction on how they can assist their children in their quest for academic success. At the Parent Information Night on August 28 at Corona High School, teachers and administrators shared with the community pertinent information about the new California Common Core State Standards, the main goal of which is to make students college and career minded and able to compete with the world. Teachers will concentrate more on working with students to deliver receive instruction ensuring a deeper level of mastery and problem solving. There will also be a more coherent progression of learning expectations in English, Language Arts and Math; which are designed to prepare K-12 students for College and career success. This success is based on a firm foundation of “Anchor Standards” that applies to each grade level. The complete list of standards can be found at http://corestandards.org/the-standards. However, the overall goals of these standards are to provide students with a more rigorous education in content and application that is aligned with college and real world work expectations. Testing will be done to ensure that students are performing well and that they are able to communicate successfully throughout all subject areas in the form of the Smarter Balances Assessment Consortium (SBAC). This assessment will be given to students in third grade, eighth grade and eleventh grade beginning in 2015. To find out more about the SBAC and to receive updates, please visit http://www.smarterbalanced.org The implantation of the CCSS will result in a shift from the “normal” English/Language Arts and Math standards and classrooms. In the English and Language Arts classes, the shift will take place by putting a greater emphasis on non-fiction work and less of a focus on the “classics” and other works of fiction. While fiction will still be a part of the curriculum, students will rely more heavily on non-fiction, scientific and technical books to obtain information. Reading, writing and speaking will also be more heavily grounded in evidence from text and other forms of information. Students will also practice with complex text and using its academic language. Since the ability to read and read well, leads to the ability to write well, the heightened focus on historical, scientific and informational reading should help students to be better prepared for college and careers. Math Standards will also shift in three major areas. The first shift will be to focus on moving from coverage to mastery. This will be done by encouraging focus and deeper instruction on fewer topics instead of trying to fit a large number of lessons into the school year. The second shift will work toward coherence by teaching students to think across grades and link to major topics within each grade. Lastly, rigor in the form of pursuing conceptual understanding and procedural skills and literacy with the final result of applying these lessons with equal intensity is the final goal. The idea is to teach students that it is about more than just doing the math, it’s about USING the math. Students are expected to be involved in rigorous tasks that require thinking and then be able to verbalize, discuss and write about the thought process that they used to arrive at answers. Students, who are below grade level, have special needs or are English language learners will not be left behind when these new standards are implemented. Instead, teachers will have more time to cover subjects in greater detail and students will have an opportunity to really understand what is being taught. Teachers will use scaffolding strategies to support students who are below grade level or need more help. Different states will also work diligently together to constantly improve upon any issues so that that these students do not get left behind. The change in the classroom will be evident, but teachers and administrators hope that the change will be welcomed. However, learning doesn’t just happen at school and parents are encouraged to get involved by talking to their kids about school, homework and what their future holds. It is important to talk to kids about college and graduating high school, as well as being involved with your children’s school and activities. With the adoption of these new standards, states and districts can share experience, methods of assessment, teaching practices and materials to help parents support learning at home. If you have any questions about the implementation of the Common core State Standards please contact Corona Norco School District at (951)736-5000.
